Congo confirms 4 Ebola cases week after outbreak ends

May 12, 2018: A health worker is sprayed with chlorine after visiting Bikoro hospital, where a patient with suspected Ebola was being evaluated
(Reuters)

KINSHASA, Congo – Congo's health ministry says at least four new cases of Ebola have emerged in the country's east, just a week after an outbreak in the northwest was declared over.

The ministry says there is no indication the two epidemics separated by more than 2,500 kilometers (1,553 miles) are related.

The North Kivu health division notified the ministry on Saturday of 26 cases of hemorrhagic fever, including 20 deaths in North Kivu province. The ministry says four of six samples sent to the capital for analysis came back positive for Ebola.